Nintendo's NES and SNES Classic systems have had an interesting time on the market over the last couple of years. Initially, consumers struggled to get their hands on the NES console as shipments sold out faster than they arrived, but things slowly started to improve over time and the SNES had a much smoother launch overall. Despite some fans being left out early on, the consoles have shifted more than 10 million units between them.

But what about the future of these tiny, retro machines? Well, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed that the two products won't be restocked after the holiday period. After a quick reminder that these current systems will be "the extent of [Nintendo's] classic program", he goes on to talk about how this classic console era is seemingly coming to an end.

"We’ve also been clear that, at least from an Americas perspective, these products are going to be available through the holiday season and once they sell out, they’re gone. And that’s it. The way that consumers will be able to continue participating with our classic content is going to be through Nintendo Switch Online, and we just released three new games (Ninja Gaiden, Wario's Woods and Adventures of Lolo) from the NES generation onto that platform. We look at that as the main way that consumers will be able to experience that legacy content."

It was only last month that Reggie described the NES and SNES Classics as "limited time opportunities" that were designed to bridge the gap between Wii U and Switch, so this news isn't all that surprising. Having said that, we do find it strange that Nintendo wouldn't want to keep stock available to some extent - the company tends to value its legacy content incredibly highly, and that includes the systems themselves.

If you haven't already grabbed your own version of either of these two consoles, perhaps now is the time to go ahead and get one. Let us know in the comments if you plan to buy one before the holidays.

Ryan’s that annoying kind of guy in multiplayer games - you know the one, the kind of person that throws a temper tantrum if he can’t be Yoshi in Mario Kart or gets stuck with the controller with the dodgy button. Yeah, that kind.

This tells me that the only reason why they haven't released VC content is to drive sales of the classic systems. Now they're on their way out, there's no excuse for not allowing us to access these games through the eShop or Online.

For the record I'd be absolutely fine if all we got for free with Online is the NES games. As long as I have the option to buy SNES, N64 and GCN games as standalone products I'd be perfectly happy.

Wowie! I’m glad I was able to get both before they come to an end! But really Reggie? Nintendo Switch Online? If you want this to be the main way to play classic Nintendo games than give us more than 3 NES games a month! What about SNES and N64? Oh yeah, I’m still waiting for Kirby’s Adventure to be released on NS Online but I guess old sports games that aged terribly are better, right?

@Scottwood101 I'm in the same camp. I actually don't think we're going to get "free" N64 games or anything after SNES.

I think we'll get a service similar to what we've got for the NES at the moment, but with SNES games - because that's a real incentive to get Switch Online.

As far as N64, GC and Wii games go... the more I think about it, the more unlikely it seems these will ever be on a similar "free" service. It would basically mean that Nintendo couldn't ever make money from these games by selling them individually again. Like, no one in their right mind is going to buy N64 games on the next generation of console if they were literally given away for free on the last generation. In my opinion Nintendo will never give up their right to sell the legacy content individually on every console iteration (excluding NES clearly, and hopefully excluding SNES).

Only Nintendo would stop making a product that’s selling well. If there’s still demand, why stop it? Much of the target market for these won’t have a Switch or even be into gaming anymore. These are as much a toy as a games console. Maybe I’m wrong.

They probably have a large stash of these they’re holding back ready to scalp on eBay for a rainy day! 😀

It was only last month that Reggie described the NES and SNES Classics as "limited time opportunities" that were designed to bridge the gap between Wii U and Switch, so this news isn't all that surprising.

Seems Nintendo wasn't sure if the Switch would meet the same fate as the Wii U and cashed in quickly, but now with having some system sellers under their belt they probably want to use the nostalgia feeling to boost the Nintendo Switch Online program.

"The way that consumers will be able to continue participating with our classic content is going to be through Nintendo Switch Online..." - OK, but then can we please get some classic content beyond three NES games a month? And most of them aren't even the good NES games!

These mini consoles went from impossible to find to languishing on store shelves. Looks like Nintendo struggled to find the right amount to manufacture / ship. It's a similar situation to amiibo. I imagine scalpers will want to scoop these up fast after today's news. The consoles will probably be worth quite a bit in a few years.

This is literally one of the dumbest business decisions Nintendo has ever made. The Switch and NES/SNES Classics appeal to completely different types of consumer. Protip; the kind of person who would spend £80 on a microconsole isn't suddenly going to shell up £280+ just to play a limited number of NES/SNES games on Switch.

One is a 'toy' and one is a full gaming console. There is no downside to you producing both.

@frabbit I'd be happy with a tiered structure. Bronze level at £20 a year with free NES games, Silver for £30 with SNES and N64 games, Gold for £40 with Gamecube games. Not so far off what Sony currently offers is it?

First people thought there would be a N64 mini and Reggie had to explain (a little late, sure) that it wasn't on the cards, although the explanation as a bridge between consoles was certainly weird.

Then he had to say "don't wait for games other than NES ones on the Online Service", despite people firmly believing otherwise since the beginning (they didn't promise anything, to be fair).

But we have to admit that they're coherent. They said NES Mini was a one time thing and only produced more due to strong demand, but it was never going to be in stores indefinitely.

Anyway, since the restocking (and SNES Mini never went out of stock) I have seen piles and piles of both mini consoles in stores. Maybe they saw all the people who wanted them already bought them the first and second times.

@SmaggTheSmug ...the thing is that I feel they wouldn't be doing this if that wasn't already the plan down the line.

In hindsight I wonder if the classic line of mini-consoles wasn't drafted before the Switch' success as a console(thus a way to sell classic games even if the Switch failed) but now that the Switch is a success and has that online service tied to classic games as well, it's becoming less relevant to go with the mini classic consoles anymore instead of focusing all efforts on the Switch and online services(such as the negotiations for the rights of these classic games now focusing on the online services rather than the production of more mini consoles).

@frabbit I’m hoping NSO will span generations (it’ll need a new name) and we will be able to access legacy content across machines under one account.

I disagree I don’t think we’ll ever see anything like paid for VC again for N64 gen onwards. I hope I’m wrong there as I want to own these games and not rent them but I don’t think it’s gonna happen. But I’ll be happy in the long run if the NSO legacy content keeps building and eventually gets to GC. SNES next xmas, N64 the next and so on.

I think they held back the 'virtual console' for switch in order to make a cash grab for the older content. Leaving it open to drip people the free one's for buying online and ultimately starting a new 'virtual console' on the switch. I think this is very likely to include N64 and possible Gamecube games.

As far as business goes I think this route will lead to the most cash for them, so probable.

this seems to suggest that there wont be a Nintendo 64 mini then. I just hope they will add more platforms to switch online sooner rather than later. as nice as some of the nes games are and I do like the cheat versions we are now getting as well but like many people here really want to get into some snes games! there is no reason for them not to get on with it if they are discontinuing the mini consoles.

What bridge were these making, exactly? There's still nothing on Switch but a handful of NES games. Not even an announcement of Januarys games yet or anything to take the SNES Classic spot. Probably should have shifted focus to Online before it went live. Not everything needs to be top secret classified, tell us the plan.

Part of the reason I bought the NES mini and SNES mini was because I didn't have those real consoles or cartridges anymore but I still have my N64 and plenty of those cartridges. I'd like to see Analogue make a N64 with HDMI, that I would buy.

Makes sense. These things don't make themselves for free. Eventually the sales curve was going to take a nose dive once the initial craziness died down. The NES Classic has been through two holiday seasons already. They have to feel like they maxed that out by now.

These things were a huge (albeit seemingly unexpected to them somehow) hit. They did a great job maximizing their sales.

"The way that consumers will be able to continue participating with our classic content is going to be through Nintendo Switch Online, and we just released three new games (Ninja Gaiden, Wario's Woods and Adventures of Lolo) from the NES generation onto that platform".

@Atariboy lol I have 5 of each and 3 of them modded to the gills!! I just had to buy the modded ones what with 7500 classic games built in its simple astounding!! And with 265 psone games also!! Unbelievable!! 😃

I'm not surprised as most Best Buys in my area and other retailers have stacks of these. At this point most people that wanted one has one and this isn't something that is going to appeal to newer fans. I hope this means the SNES games will be coming along soon.

@Scottwood101This tells me that the only reason why they haven't released VC content is to drive sales of the classic systems.

This makes no sense, the NES Classic didn't stop them from putting NES games on the Switch. Don't make excuses for their bad decisions and don't get your hopes up that the end of the Classic systems will bring SNES games.

Surely the N64 Classic is coming didn’t they file a trademark for the controller icon?

I hope one day they would re-release the real original NES and Super NES consoles and select games in the original boxes with manuals and maps. I would buy two of the consoles and every game re-released for it.

@frabbit then make them available to buy. I'm sure I'm not the only one willing to give N my money for yet another digital version of some of the best games ever made. Cube games I don't think will ever come in either form tho. I think they would rather remaster them than release them in the standard form. I'd love to have sunshine etc remastered tho. We can only dream eh.

@Kidfunkadelic83I agree. I would be willing to pay the upgrade fee again like I had to with Wii VC games on Wii U. I have 300 VC/Wiiware/ eshop games on my Wii U with what was transferred from my Wii back in the day. But if something ever happens to my Wii U they are gone and all that money I spent on them is gone too. I realize when you buy a digital game you are not promised it forever. I had no problem when they let us upgrade Wii VC games to Wii U for a reasonable fee. I would even resign myself to paying the regular $5-$8 to purchase again the games I want most on Switch. Worst thing is this horrid and agonizing slow trickle of games we get. On the Wii VC it started with 3-4 games per week, to usually one sometimes up to 3 in the early days of Wii U to barely one per week. Now with Switch Online it is 3 per month! That will take forever to get all the games we could want.

"The way that consumers will be able to continue participating with our classic content is going to be through Nintendo Switch Online, "

You mean the NSO that has only NES games? How does that help the SNES mini content again?

Sometimes I think Nintendo succeeds in spite of themselves. I can understand timed launches, and keeping content coming etc, etc, but when they start crossing wires on being secretive about the future plans for the service, denying future plans for the service, and then directly stating that the service is the way to get the content they're discontinuing, even though the service doesn't contain that content.....just....why?

@rdrunner1178 yeah I have a good few on my wii u aswell and I've been so tempted to use some of those uselessly silver coins lately to get a few more at a reduced rate but I don't really want them on my wii u. I want to be able to play them on my lunch at work etc so switch would be ideal.

I ended up getting my SNES Classic hacked & put a bunch of extra games on to the system. I almost have the entire SNES library, the SNES Classic really wasn't used to its full potential but I understand there's licencing issues...and I know I'm in a legal grey area here. LOL. That said, I didn't hack my NES Classic because of Nintendo Switch Online, and mostly because for me the 16-bit era will always be my most-favourite. I am sad that Nintendo doesn't seem to want to make an N64 Classic or a GCN Classic. And they don't seem to have any interest in putting SNES, N64, GCN, Wii, or Game Boy (GBC/GBA incl) content on Nintendo Switch Online or some kind of Virtual Console for the Switch. And it's sad that the VCs of Wii U and 3DS were incredibly under-serviced. There's a market for this legacy content and if Nintendo doesn't provide it, well that's why people like me hacked our SNES Classics then.

When they announced the NES Classic, I wanted to pick one up, despite not particularly needing it. After the way Nintendo handled its release,I let that go and moved on. The eventual re-release hasn't moved me. If "they're gone" once or if they well out, that's cool with me. I'm not one to respond to the "limited time" marketing tactic.

Seeing as I can still find 4 major online retailers selling both as well as 2 stores I walked into 3 days ago, I can't fuss about limited stock. If anything I wonder if this is a tactic to create hype to sell the stock they still have, people love rare things.

Eh, I'm happy just owning the SNES Mini now that we're getting NES games on Switch. The NES was a generation before my time and I don't really have fond memories of it, whereas the SNES is my favorite console (though the Switch might beat it before its life cycle is over).

I don't know why they left out the concept of the VC out of their plans. It was brilliant, especially on the Wii era. Lots of great games (and often others that were limited releases on the past) were available to anyone with the console. The system they are pushing now isn't bad, but they are completely ignoring what their users want.

For me, I at least still have my Wii U and 3DS out for my VC needs. The VC on the Wii U isn't the best, but at least I can have lots of SNES and GBA games that I didn't got a chance to play before. And a heads up, if you have any money in your Wii shop, you probably want to use it before December ends and the service is closed.

@Frenean The NES games didn't age well either. I have lots of memories, but those are mostly from Super Mario Bros 3, Ducktales 2, TMNT and Dream Master. Too bad only one of those is on the NES Classic.

Glad I picked mine up after all the craze died down, and for normal, retail prices. The reason they don't want these things in the wild is laid out in what they said about Switch online. "We want to focus on Switch online." No. They want YOU to focus on PAYING for Switch Online. Man, the more I read about Nintendo, the less inclined I want to keep supporting them.

@DarthFoxMcCloud I want to hack mine to add the games I own physically (like Maximum Carnage, Mortal Kombat, Chrono Trigger, DKC 2 and 3). I just want to know if there's a way to restore the original firmware and leave the system as if it had never happened if I ever want to go back.

While it does suck that they're canning these items that people seem to really want, if this is why they've been holding out on retro titles in the eshop then I'm happy to buy them there instead. Switch Online kinda works too, though I'd much rather just buy a game than have to hope it comes on so I can borrow it from my Switch overlords.

@goggles789 Not sure but the way my friend hacked mine for me, all the new games are in a sub-folder that is sorted alphabetically. So it doesn't impact the main menu of the SNES Classic (other than adding an icon for the new sub-folder). And he was able to put on all of the original boxart for the newly hacked-in games so it basically looks like these games were always meant to be on the retail release. It was really well-done! I'll never want to go back. And these hacked games still include the Restore points for easy-saving that the standard SNES Classic games have too!

@frabbit they wouldn’t be given away for free though, with NSO you’re just renting the games. By the time the next console comes, they could stop supporting the NSO app, and the second that plug is pulled you can no longer play those games. Want to play those classic games again? Gotta get the next system and either pay the subscription fee or pay for the games. You’ve been cut off.

And I mean, if they added N64 and GameCube games, it could be a separate subscription entirely, Sony has s similar thing for $60 a year (separate from Plus) giving you access to a bunch of older PlayStation games. Nintendo could easily do that. Or, when the catalog starts to include N64 and GameCube games, they could choose to only offer them at a higher tier of NSO for $60 a month instead of $20. For the company, the beauty of “giving them away” like this is you only temporarily own them. I could just as easily argue, “Nintendo already sold these games to me on Wii U and Wii, why would I pay to buy them again? I can just play them on my older consoles.” But for people who get them “for free” from their service instead, they won’t be able to play them anymore after the app is no longer supported - heck, it locks only a week after you don’t go online with a valid subscription!

Renting them out instead of buying them allows Nintendo to continue to make money off of consumers. Selling them repeatedly diminished their value over time because people already own them, but renting them doesn’t do that because people can’t go back and play the games once the next system comes along and they stop offering the service.

Not saying it’ll happen, but they make more money in the long run this way because they continually make money from subscriptions instead of single purchases, while allowing consumers to buy the games reduces the likelihood they can sell the same games to them on the next hardware (renting them to users doesn’t do so as much; wanna play more of the game, gotta resubscribe).

@goggles789 The problem is at least this year I have noticed that everything Reggie has said has made me lose some faith in Nintendo. His wording really is terrible. I wish they would replace him with someone who is real.@Bunkerneath I was pissed when I first read this and decided to build my own 64 classic. Unfortunately, the raspberry pi 3 isn't powerful enough to run Goldeneye without chugging. I guess I'll deal with the lack of a crt filter using original hardware on a modern tv. Or buy a 64 to USB adapter and hook up a laptop.

@beazlen1 You know it won't. Look at how they renamed it "Switch online". And look at how they made people pay for the games again from the Wii to Wii U. Hopefully if they pull this again people call them out for it.

I don't get why people want the Switch to have everything. I want to own my stuff, not rent a selection of games. I only ever played Zelda on the Switch service for the sake of finally finishing the game. Typically we buy new systems to play NEW games. And talk of $60 a year for gamecube? Play Station gives you modern games for $60...

Even if SNES games come to the Switch, I have a SNES classic with actual SNES controllers. Plus with a classic you can add all the old obsecure games you had that wouldn't ever come to a service.

I do hope a 64 classic comes some day. I really want to play Goldeneye and Perfect Dark with a crt filter. And not on a computer.

If this means they are going to bring retro content to the Switch, I am like 10,000% in favor of this move.

Build the emulators for the Switch, and if they want to sell hardware, release OPTIONAL retro style controllers for die hard fans. I actually totally would buy an N64 wireless controller for the Switch for Mario Kart 64, Smash, Mario 64, Rogue Squadron, Shadows of the Empire, etc.

Yeah, that’s a pretty stupid approach. I’ll reconsider my assessment when you start releasing SNES games on Switch. And it wouldn’t hurt to branch out to Game Boy, N64, DS, GameCube, and Wii games, too. I’m not going to pay $20 a year in perpetuity just to play NES games.

Oh no, I can get one right now. I just meant that this was an official heads up to scalpers from Nintendo to be on the look out for when these systems become rare again lol. Sorry, should've been more clear. Bottom line is, NOW is the time to get one while they're priced reasonable and abundant.

And with this the strange journey of the classics line comes to an end it seems. I got the SNES classic as many of the games it had on it are ones I consider to have aged rather well. In fact, as a whole, the SNES aged quite well. The NES classic on the other hand I never did get, as I have no real nostalgia for it and very few games have aged well. And even those that have aren't my favorites. Still, I'm glad they did a reprint so everyone who wanted one could get one.

As for future classic consoles, I quite doubt it. While both the N64 and Gamecube are certainly well remembered neither had as big of a cultural impact as their predecessors and I doubt either mini would be able to continue this success.

Still, since this appears to be the case, I hope we see SNES games on Switch soon. And I'll still hold out hope for Gamecube someday. There are a lot of Gamcube games that are very hard to play today.

Meanwhile Sony is having no luck selling the PlayStation Classic. It seems like you won't be having any trouble finding these if you actually even want them. Heck even scalper doesn't want to scalp these as they're not worth scalping value.

If they really want people to subscribe to NSO for old-school games, they should AT LEAST put in SNES games too if they're going to be discontinuing both the NES and SNES Classics. I have to be honest, it truly bothers me that they're ONLY focusing on NES games...

@nintendork64 Yes, I would enjoy to play it again and actually beat it this time around (I was pretty young back then), but I believe it was made by a now-dead studio, so that, coupled with dealing with the current owners of the licensing rights might be too complicated to even bother with it, but a man can dream.

I'm somewhat excited by this. As much as I love dual wielding Nintendo the switch is showing what having focus on one system can bring. Once they can the minis (I still want a N64 mini) they can open the floodgates/figure out how they will deal with VC. I wonder if they have considered doing volume collections this time around. toss between 10-20 games on to a volume and sell it for about 40 bucks.